Adjustable head for golf clubs



g- 29, 1950 J. VERDERBER 2,520,702

ADJUSTABLE HEAD FOR cow CLUBS Filed May 15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. JOSEPH VERDERBER ATTORNEY Ailg- 29, 1950 J. VERDERBERADJUSTABLE HEAD FDR GOLF CLUBS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 15, 1947 R Emm m 1 A V. i w. H m P M J ed surface 26.

of the bore l and the counterbore 23. The counterbore 23 is tapped for aportion of its length to provide the sextuple thread 25 which is adaptedto receive the thread 4 of the shank 3.

The thread 6 in the cavity 5 of the shank 3 cooperates with and abutsthe thread 26 on the adjusting screw 21. A centrally disposed cavity 28is provided in the screw 21, frOm which longitudinally spaced openings23 extend radially through the wall 30 and terminate at thethreadprovided in the wall 32 of the shank 3 which ter- Similar spacedopenings 3| are minate at the threaded surface 4. 'When-lubricant isforced into the cavity 28 in theadjusting screw 21, it is conductedthrough the radial openings 29 to the interengaging surfaces of thethreads 26 and 6 and is further conducted through the radial openings 3|to the interact ingsurfaces of the threads 4 and 25. V I

The-adjusting screw 21 is provided witha unitary flange or collar 33which is disposed approximatelyfimidway of its length'and the screwterminates in a stem 34 which is provided with a cavity 35 thus formingthe wall 36. The wall 36 has formed therein circumferentially spacedgrooves or slots 31 which serve to relieve the wall 36 so asqto permitit to be expanded slightly. The cavity 35 is tapped for a portion of itsdepth to provide the thread 38 which isadapted to receive a hollow headscrew 39.

. The cavity 35 is adapted to receive a ball of slightly oversizediameter which, when forced into the cavity 35, expands the wall 36 intolock-L ing frictional engagement with the periphery of the bore 4i ofthe knob 42. The screw 39 assists in forcing the ball 40 into the cavity35 and serves to close the opening. thereby preventing the en? trance ofdirt and foreign matter into the cavity.

The knob '42 is provided with longitudinally spaced annular grooves 43which are adapted to retain soft washers 44 which actas seals againstthe entrance of dirt into the counterbore l I in the headl. Apiston-type seal 45' on the shank 3 servestoseal the threads 4 againstthe entrance of dirt and foreign matter. Theface of the knob 42 isprovided with an angularly inclined surface 46 jon which are inscribedindex characters as noted that rotation 'ofthe knob 42 is not limitedtothe' positions corres'pondingto the index char acters, but the knobmay be rotated to' positions intermediate the positions shown by theindex characters to thereby correspondingly obtain a great varietyofangles of loft of th club head.

A diametrical arcuate groove 41 is provided in the face of the knob 42,which serves to receive a disc' 48 which is used to rotate theknob. 'Acoin or' similar discmay also be used for this purpose. It is preferredthat the disc 48 be magnetized so that itmaybe conveniently retained inThe operation of my invention will now be briefly described.

Thrust washers 52 and '53 are placed on the adjusting screw 21, and aredisposed on opposite sides of and adjacent to the collar 33. Inassembly, the washers Hand 53 and the interposed unitary collar 33 ofthe screw 27, are held in rigid alignment by action of the screw i5whichforces the washer 53 to bear again'st the shoulder l2, and thereby theadjusting screw 21 is prevented from longitudinal movement in eitherdirection.

The character of the threads on the adjusting screw 21 and on the shank3 are of particular importance in my invention. As shown in thedrawings, the threads 4 and 25 are right-hand and have a pitch of /18inch and a lead of inch, being three threads per inch, sextuple. Thethreads 6 and 26 are left-hand and have a pitch of /1 inch and aleadpf/18 inch.

Thespecifications of the threads may vary considerably however, it onlybeing necessary for the operation of my invention that the lead of thethreads 4 and 25 be greater than the lead of the threads '6 and 26 andthat the helix angle of the threads 4 and 25 not be a locking angle,that is, the angle must be one such as will permit the shank 3 to rotatein response to an axial com ponent of force applied thereto.

Thus the threads4 and 6 may both be right hand or may both be left hand;the thread 4 may be left hand and the thread 6 may be right hand;

thepitch of either thread 4 or thread 6 may be.

substantially the same if the specifications of the a shank 3 and hosell.

held against rotation, the shank 3 will be forced. to the right asviewed in Figs. 1 and 3 and correspondingly will rotate in acounter-clockwise di-- threads were to be varied as hereinbeforedescribed.

It will be observed that if the knob 42 is turned in a clockwisedirection (as seenin Fig. 4), by

means of the disc 46,'the rotation will be transmitted to the adjustingscrew 21 through the frictional engagement of the expanded wall 36 withthe bore 4| of the knob. Rotationof the screw 21 in the'directio'n'indicated will, as the thread 26 is left-hand, have a tendency to threadout or extract the screw 21'from the cavity 5 of rection as viewedinFig. 2. If the hosel i were 2 to be held against rotation, the head 1would be a suitable opening provided therefor in, for exam- 7 me, thegrip of the golf club.

; A pin' 49 projects from the end surface 50 of the knob 42 and extendsinto overlapping relationsh'ip'with a pin 5| which projects from theface [-9 ofthe" thrust screw [5, and'thus the pins 49 and 5| cooperateto limit rotation of the knob 42 to slightly less than one revolution ineither the forced to the left as seen in Figs. l and 3 andcorrespondingly wouldv rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed inFig. '2. In either case, the

loft of the head 1 would be increased.

- Rotation of the knob 42 in a counter-clockwise by decreasing the loftof the club head. Due tothe differential in lead betweenthe threads 4and 5,: 26, the shank 3'or'th'e head 1, asthe case may be,

will have only one-sixth 'of-the rotationof the V adjusting. screw 75!.so that maximum. rota-donut: the; knob. k2 and-.eorresphndinglw or. thescrew. 21:,

would be. approximately: 1:. of a. revohition.

on 329." would rotate.- the head; only one-sixth. aa-.mughror 5.49:

Werezthedifferential m lead lessthamthe ratios maximurmlofit requiredthacourseot' may.

therec-iscorrespondingly: little; advantage. in using a. lesserdiiierential. in lead than. that described.

On the other hand, were the: pitch; of. the:

threads..&and12fi finer. than /18 inch, and correpondingly were thedifferential in lead between the threads 4-and1'26 greater-than; theratio of 6, to; 1., the knob 42,,would. turn withgreater ease. Underthese circumstances, in order to obtainthee desired angles of. loft,itwould be necessary to turn the knob 42' through more than onerevolution anditherefore the sto rpins 49 and 5l3WOl11d, be; eliminatedand a. detent structure (not shown), such. as.a.spring pressed-bailcooperating with a depression in the end surface 50 of the knob 42 wouldbe provided.

It will be noted that in actual play, when the face 8 strikes the golfball, no relative movement between the shank 3 and the head I can occur,as any such impact would only have the effect 0f strengthening thelocked relationship of the parts. Similarly, relative movement betweenthe shank 3 and head I is prohibited by the adjusting screw 2'! on theback swing of the golf club.

It will also be noted that any play or backlash in the threads whichmight exist, will immediately be taken upon the forward swing of theclub, due to the inertia of the head I. In this connection it will beseen that the lower portion if the head 1 is provided with a cavity 54into which can be placed lead or similar ballast so that the golfer canadjust the weight of the club head to his individual liking.

Thus, the golfer may quickly and easily adjust the head of the club tovarying degrees of loft as required by the conditions of play and isthereby relieved of the expense and burden of carrying a largeassortment of individual golf clubs. The index characters on the face ofthe knob 4 are calibrated to the standard nomenclature applied to golfclubs, that is, the character I designates a putter, the character 3designates a No. 3 iron, and so forth. The golfer can thereby readilyinterpret the adjustment required in terms of standard nomenclature.

- Having thus described my invention, it will be understood that variouschanges may be made in the construction, shape, size and arrangement ofparts without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope ofthe subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In an adjustable head for golf clubs, the combination of a threadedshank, said shank having an external thread and an internal thread, saidinternal thread being of lesser lead than and of opposite inclination tosaid external thread, a head rotatably carried by said external threadon said shank, a threaded element adapted to rotatably engage saidinternal thread, and means whereby said element is held longitudinal 1yimmovable relatively to said head.

-22 In an adjustable. combination of; a. headhaving a. cavity thereinsaidrcauity: having: ashoulder. therein, a shank external and internalthreads, rotatably engaging a. portion of. said cavity,..said.externali. thread being. of greater. lead than and. of oppoe.

site inclination to. said internal thread, a,.thread.-= ed elementengaging said internal thread, said threadedzelement having an annular.collar there:-

on",- a. screw. adapted to maintain saidcollar; on.

saidrthreadiedelement axially immovable relatinelmto; said: shoulder. insaid; cavity, and means; adaptedto-rotate. said threaded elementwherebysaidrhead will be rotated relatively to said shank- 3:. Irran.adjustable; head golf club, a hosel, a:

placement of said shank extension relatively to:.

said. head, the; helix angle. of said threaded. connection. between saidhead. and: said shank. exatension: being; such as to induce rotation. 0tsaid. head, about said. shankextension. in: response to.

saidzlongitudinaldisplacement.

4. In an adjustable head golf? club, athreadedt shank,v a-.. threadedheart secured; to said. shank, an adjusting screw threadedly engagingsaid shank coaxially thereof, and means for securing said adjustingscrew against axial movement relatively to said head, said adjustingscrew having threads of lesser lead than said head and the helix angleof said threaded connection between said head and said shank being suchas to cause rotation of said head about said shank in response torelative longitudinal displacement of said shank whereby rotation ofsaid adjusting screw effects proprotional rotation of said headrelatively to said shank.

5. In an adjustable head for golf clubs, the combination of a threadedshank, said shank having an external thread and an internal thread, saidexternal thread being of greater lead than said internal thread, a headrotatably carried by said external thread on said shank, a threadedelement adapted to rotatably engage said internal thread, and meanswhereby said element is held longitudinally immovable relatively to saidhead.

6. In an adjustable head for golf clubs, the combination of a headhaving a threaded cavity therein, a shank threadedly engaging saidcavity in said head, said threads having a helix angle which will permitrotation of said shank relatively to said head in response to an axialcomponent of force applied to said shank, and axially immovable meanssecured to said head and threadedly engaging said shank co-axiallythereof for mechanically transmitting said force to said shank.

'7. A combination, as defined in claim 6, in which said means comprisean adjusting screw rotatably mounted in said head.

8. A combination, as defined in claim 7, in which said ajusting screwhas threads of lesser lead than said first-mentioned threads.

9. A combination, as defined in claim 8, in which said adjusting screwhas threads of opposite hand to said first-mentioned threads.

10. Means for adjusting a member angularly relative to another member,said means comprising an internal thread on said first-named member, acooperating thread on said second-named member, said threads having ahelix angle which will permit rotation of said first-named member head.fOIi golf clubs, the.

relatively to said second-named member in'response to an axial componentof force applied to one of said members; and. axially immovable meansrotatably secured to said first-named member'and threadedlyengaging saidseconda named member for mechanically transmitting said force to one ofsaid members.

11. Means for adjusting a member angularly relative to another member,said means comprising an internal thread on said first-named memher, acooperating thread on said secondnamed member, and a screw elementhaving lesser thread lead than said first-mentioned threads,

secured to said first-named member in lo'ngitudinally immovablerelationship thereto and threadedly engaging said second-named memberwhereby rotation of said screw element causes longitudinal displacementof one of said membersrelatively to the other and proportional rotationtherebetween.

.12. A combination, as defined in claim, 2, in

which said means comprise a knob rotatably mounted in said cavity andsecured to said threaded element in axial alignment therewith,

whereby rotation of said knob causes like rotation of, said element. p

13. In an adjustable head golf club, a shank; a

' 'The following references are of 8 head threadedly secured to :saidshank, and an adjusting screw threadedly engaging said shank in axialalignment therewith, said adjusting screw being secured inlongitudinally immovable relationship to said head whereby rotation ofsaid screw effects longitudinal displacement of said shank relatively tosaid head.

14. In an adjustable head for a golf c1ub,'the combination of a headhaving a threaded cavity. therein, a hosel having an integral extensionforming a spindle threadedly engaging a portion of said cavity, saidspindle being rotatable rela-- tively to said head in response to lineardisplace-r mentthereof, and, means mounted in said cavity:

in longitudinal abutment with said spindle for selectively effectinglinear displacement of said spindle relatively to said head.

. JOSEPH VERDERBER.

REFERENCES CITED record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,144,447 Barnhart Jan. 17; 19392,381,636 Bancroft Aug. '7, 1945

